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Otago Daily Times, Issue 22246, 26 April 1934, Page 13

Considerable interest is being displayed in tbe method to be adopted of taking Dredge 222 to the river claim which she is intended to work between Clydevale and Tuapeka Mouth. Mr R. A. Robertson, exmechanical engineer to the Otago Harbour Board, who is supervising the reconstruction work on the dredge to enable her to treat the material from the river, supplies some particulars of the procedure. He states that the depth of water on the bar of the Molyneux River at spring tides is 11 feet and that the dredge draws 7ft Gin. Arrangements have been made with a shipping company to tow the vessel down the coast and over the bar, and it is interesting to note that she has been insured with Lloyd’s for £20,000 to go over the bar. Once across the bar the dredge will be taken over by Captain Tsukigawa, who has had an experience of piloting river steamers on the Molyneux for many years aud has an intimate knowledge of the shallows and depths of the river. The dredge will be winched up most of the way to Clydevale and will also receive assistance from her propellers. She will be required to dredge her way to a depth of about, three feet for some three miles up the river, ami will treat for gold the gravel thus brought up by the buckets. Derricks are being fitted on the dredge at Port Chalmers, and with these the big wheel and the top tumblers will be lifted off to enable her to pass under the traffic and railway bridges at Balclntha. i Last year, it may be added, with the spring tides, the river had a depth of 9 feet to 1G feet, and Air Robertson says that if similar depths are 'experienced this year there will be no difficulty in taking the dredge over the portion affected by the tides.